Computing environment transaction system to transact computing environment circumventions

ABSTRACT

A system and methods allowing the creation, integration, and transaction of rule circumventions and/or interactive advertisements in computing environments is provided. In an illustrative implementation, the present invention comprises a core transaction server, a multimedia transaction server, and browser application. A computing environment cooperates with the core transaction server to obtain data representative of computing environment rule circumventions for integration within the computing environment as well as computing environment circumvention transaction information. The core transaction server cooperates with the multimedia transaction server to obtain data representative of the desired computing environment rule circumvention and with the browser application to obtain inputs from computing environment to establish accounts for use when transacting computing environment rule circumvention transactions.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.09/676,448, filed Sep. 29, 2000, which claims the benefit of ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/212,749, filed Jun. 20, 2000, the entirety ofeach are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the creation, integration,and transaction of instances when predefined rules that govern aparticular environment are circumvented. Particularly, the presentinvention relates to providing an ability to circumvent predefined rulesof a computing environment through a transaction where the ability isintegrated within the computing environment and is exploited as thecomputing environment is navigated.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Today, we face many challenges in our daily lives that demand theexpenditure of valuable resources. These challenges are presented aspart of an environment (e.g. non-computing and/or computingenvironments) that is itself governed by a set of operating rules. In anideal world, a person navigating through these environments would havethe ability to change or re-define those rules to assist in disposing ofencountered challenges. For every rule there is a sanction, aretribution, a reprimand, and in some cases a punishment which can belevied by a governing authority and/or environment operator for breakingor circumventing the environment rule. Some environments may not offer asanction, reprimand, retribution, or punishment when a rule is broken,bur rather may be structured that it is virtually impossible tocircumvent or break an environment rule. Accordingly, on balance, mostpeople when navigating in an environment try their best to adhere to theenvironment rules, or in the case where there is no risk for rulebreaking, do not attempt to break or circumvent rules as the environmentstructure makes it difficult to break the environment rules. Even if onewere to choose to break an environment rule, in most environments thereare not mechanisms that allow for rule breaking that either mitigate orcompletely remove risk.

To stay competitive in a particular environment and to optimize theposition in the environment by exploiting the predefined rules, rigorousphysical and/or mental training, or the use of advanced tools may berequired. However, for the non-scrupulous, the same maybe be achieved bycircumventing and/or breaking the predefined rules. The rules may bebroken, for example, through bribery, cheating, and deception. Such rulecircumvention and/or breaking has allowed for some significant events inour society today. For example, some ventures, and even some governmentscan base their existence on the practice of breaking environment rules,or at the least circumventing the predefined environment rules to morequickly achieve a desired goal. Subscribing to social conventions,however, breaking rules is traditionally kept secret in fear ofretaliation, reprimand, and rebuke from non-sanctioning parties.Considering the benefits that may be realized from circumventing and/orbreaking predefined rules of an environment, if given the choice, mostwould to circumvent and/or break the environment predefined rules toassist them with their daily challenges.

Human nature dictates our need to achieve. This is apparent in the fieldof gaming. Gaming enthusiasts are willing to pay for the opportunity tohave the ability to circumvent and/or break the predefined rules of thecomputer game. This is especially the case where the player has spent asignificant amount of time and energy in overcoming various challengeswithin the game to reach the desired goal of completing the game, but isunable to overcome a particular posed challenge. In such a circumstance,the player will likely be willing to pay for the ability to overcomethis posed challenge through the circumvention of a predefined rule thathelps define the challenge. In recent years, gaming enthusiasts haveenjoyed a number of action, action-adventure, adventure, and strategygames, such as, DOOM®, QUAKE®, AGE OF EMPIRES®, ULITMA ONLINE®, etc. Theobject of these games is to wage battle with various beings in an effortto win a war or improve your standing within the game and/or gamingcommunity. These games are typically structured such that the player isgiven access to increasingly superior weaponry and/or skills as theyadvance through increasingly difficult game levels. In an ideal world,gamers would be able to have access to these superior weapons, oralternatively, additional ammunition for their existing weaponry, and/orsuperior skills earlier in the gaming experience, thereby increasing thegamers chances of completing computer game levels.

Current practices and conventions require gamers to ferret throughcomputer game reference information, such as computer game hint booksand computer game hint Websites to find what are touted as credible andreliable hints that are advertised, if used, would help garners moreeasily play a computer game. A hint may provide information such asbutton combinations that would allow gamers to circumvent and/or breakthe predefined rules of a computer game (e.g. obtain a superior weaponinstantaneously without having to complete a game level or having tofind it in the computer game environment). However, these practicesplace a significant burden on gamers as they are required to spend theirtime and energy tracking these hints down. Also, there is no guaranteethat the hint actually works as advertised. The gamer is thus exposed tothe possibility of trying numerous hints before finding one thatachieves the desired computer game predefined rule circumvention and/orrule breaking (e.g. obtaining a superior weapon). Moreover, there is adisconnect in the activities surrounding the actual playing of acomputer game and incorporating a found hint in the game being played.That is, the hints are not integrated within the computer gameenvironment and exist external to the computer game.

Moreover, currently, computer game developers are not afforded theability to monetize the existing practice of rule circumvention.Typically, computer game developers invest significant resources, bothlabor and capital, to create a computer game having a specific set ofrules (e.g. collect four bottles in a particular level and the game willadvance the participating user to the next game level). In someinstances, the computer game (or other computing environment) isconfigured such that the participating user is required to complete anentire level before advancing and are configured to only to perform asave at the beginning of a particular game level. Such gameconfiguration, which is often the case, frustrates participating gamersas they are required to repeat a portion or more of a particular leveleach time the game is played. Such frustration leads gaming enthusiaststo search for rule circumvention techniques to avoid the games rigidconfiguration.

A more advantageous practice contemplates providing enhancedentertainment options for a computer game wherein a mechanism is offeredto gaming developers for integration with within a computer game thatoffers the ability to gamers to circumvent and/or break the predefinedrules of the computer game while the game is being played. This practicefurther contemplates the ability to transact the instance in which thegamer accepts the offers provided by the mechanism while the game isbeing played. Such practice would eliminate the time and effortexpenditure required by existing practices and protect the gamer fromusing faulty hints. Moreover, the enhanced entertainment option wouldprovide interactive advertisements that are seamlessly integrated withinthe computer game allowing users to purchase products and/or services orreceive desired information while the game is being played.

From the foregoing it can be appreciated that there exists a need forcomprehensive systems and methods that offer computing environmentoperators the ability to monetize the circumvention of rules in theenvironment such that participants of an environment are allowed tocircumvent environment rules using an integrated mechanism which isinvoked through a transaction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to providing systems and methods thatprovide computer environment operators a mechanism for integrationwithin the computing environment that allows participating users of thecomputing environment the ability to circumvent and/or break predefinedrules of a computer game environment through a transaction. In anillustrative implementation, the systems and methods described hereincomprise a core transaction server, a multimedia transaction server anda browsing application. These components may exist in a singlestandalone computer or act as components of a networked computingenvironment. In operation, a computer game environment cooperates withthe core transaction server to integrate, transact, manage, and executeinstances where the predefined rules of the computer game environmentare broken. The cooperating computer game environment, in this context,is capable of offering and executing, and transacting enhancedentertainment options.

In the contemplated implementation, the browser application is employedto accept input from a participating user indicative of a desire to haveaccess to the capability of circumventing the predefined rules of one ormore cooperating game environments and/or to request access to executeinteractive advertisements integrated within the enhanced computer gameenvironment. This input is processed and stored by the core transactionserver for use when executing and transacting instances of rule breakingand/or interactive advertisement execution. The core transaction serveralso cooperates with the multimedia transaction server to retrieve forand present to the cooperating computer game environment with requestedand/or targeted multimedia for presentation to participating users wheninteracting with the computer game environment.

In implementation provided, an account is established through a seriesof inputs received through the browsing application for participatingusers. The account information is stored on the core transaction serverfor future use. In addition, the core transaction server cooperates withthe computer game environment to provide data representative ofintegrated enhanced entertainment options. Further the core transactionserver cooperates with the multimedia transaction server to supply thecomputer game environment with multimedia data for use in transactingthe enhanced entertainment options. In operation, a participating userinteracts with a computer game environment supporting the enhancedentertainment options to exploit one or more of the available optionsthrough an account transaction. The core transaction server cooperatedwith the computer game environment to track, execute, and manageenhanced entertainment options transactions by updating theparticipating users account information (e.g. debiting the account whenan option is executed) and providing the requested entertainment optiondata through the cooperation with the multimedia transaction server.

The enhanced entertainment options include the option to circumvent oneor more of the predefined rules of the computer game environment suchthat the predefined rule is broken while the participating user playsthe game (or games) offered by the computer game environment. Inaddition, the entertainment enhancement options may include the optionto interact with one or more integrated interactive advertisements, suchthat the interaction with the integrated interactive advertisementsinitiates the execution of a desired event, function, action, orscenario.

Other features of the present invention are described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A system and methods for the creation, integration, and transaction ofrule circumventions are further described with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an exemplary computing environment inaccordance with the herein described systems and methods;

FIG. 1A is a system diagram of an exemplary computing networkenvironment in accordance with the herein described systems and methods;

FIG. 1B is a system diagram showing the interaction between exemplarycomputing components in accordance with the herein described systems andmethods;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the interaction between participatingparties employing the systems and methods described herein;

FIG. 2A is a general block diagram showing the interaction betweenexemplary computing environment components in accordance with anillustrative implementation of the herein described systems and methods;

FIG. 2A′ is a detailed system diagram showing the interaction betweenexemplary computing environment components in accordance with anillustrative implementation of the herein described system and methods;

FIG. 2B is a detailed system diagram showing the interaction betweenexemplary computing environment components in accordance with analternative illustrative implementation of the herein described systemand methods;

FIG. 2C is a detailed system diagram showing the interaction betweenexemplary computing environment components in accordance with analternative illustrative implementation of the herein described systemand methods;

FIG. 2D is a detailed system diagram showing an alternative exemplaryinteraction between exemplary computing environment components inaccordance with an alternative illustrative implementation of the hereindescribed system and methods;

FIG. 2D′ is a block diagram of illustrative data flow between exemplarycomputing environment components in accordance with the herein describedsystem and methods;

FIG. 2E is a block diagram showing the operation of an illustrativeinterface component in accordance with herein described systems andmethods;

FIG. 3 is a screen shot of an exemplary gaming computing applicationhaving therein incorporated the rule circumvention features of theherein described system and methods;

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of an exemplary computing application havingtherein incorporated integrated advertisement features of the hereindescribed system and methods;

FIG. 4A is a screen shot of an exemplary computing simulationapplication showing the real-time transaction in accordance with theherein described system and methods;

FIG. 5 is high level flow diagram of the processing performed by theherein described system and methods when performing rule circumventionand integrated advertisement operations;

FIG. 5A is a detailed flow diagram of the processing performed toauthenticate a participating user and to create a session for anauthenticated participating user in accordance with the herein describedsystems and methods;

FIG. 5B is a detailed flow diagram of the processing performed whentransacting the capability to circumvent a predefine rule in accordancewith the herein described systems and methods;

FIG. 5C is a detailed flow diagram of the processing performed whenoffering and executing interactive advertisements in accordance with theherein described systems and methods;

FIG. 5D is a detailed flow diagram of the processing performed whenintegrating interactive advertisements in accordance with the hereindescribed systems and methods;

FIG. 5E is a detailed flow diagram of the processing performed aparticipating user updates their purchasing power to purchasecapabilities to circumvent rules in accordance with the herein describedsystem and methods;

FIG. 5F is a detailed flow diagram of the processing performed toauthenticate a request to update purchasing power by a participatinguser in accordance with the herein described systems and methods; and

FIG. 5G is a flow diagram of the processing performed to track relevantdata surrounding the transaction of rule circumvention capabilities andinteractive advertisements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE IMPLEMENTATIONS

Overview:

Computing environments (e.g. computer games) are defined by a set (orsets) of predefined rules. These rules help to describe how a particularcomputing environment (e.g. computer game) is to be navigated.Specifically, in the context of computer games, these rules may alsodescribe the objective of a particular computer game, how to play aparticular computer game, and provides structure for the various levelswithin a computer game. Conventionally, a computing environment operator(e.g. a computer game developer), when configuring the computingenvironment (e.g. designing the game), will define the rules for thecomputing environment (e.g. computer game) such that these rules cannotbe circumvented. However, participating users (e.g. diehard computergaming enthusiasts) have taken on the challenge of finding “cheats” tocircumvent one or more of the predefined rules for a particularcomputing environment (e.g. computer game) such to more easily navigatethrough the particular computer environment. In the context of computergames, the “cheats” operate to make the game easier to play.

Consequently, instead of wasting hours upon hours to discover optimumways of navigating a particular computing environment through thecircumvention of one or more rules established for a computingenvironment (e.g. achieve a particular level within a computer game orto obtain one or more desired features within the computer game), thecomputing environment “cheats” may be employed to more easily achievethe desired levels and/or features. Currently, a participating user(e.g. a gamer) is required to search through various reference sources(e.g. game cheating books, the Internet, electronic message boards,etc.) to find what are advertised as reliable and functional cheats fora particular computing environment (e.g. computer games). Theparticipating user (e.g. gamer) then is required to modify theircomputer game environment to incorporate the desired “cheat.” Suchmodifications may entail executing sometimes incompatible executablesoftware code which may have a significant and detrimental impact on theunderlying computing environment (e.g. computer game). Also, executionof the “cheat”, in most cases, must be performed each time the computingenvironment is encountered (e.g. game is played) placing an undue burdenon the participating user (e.g. gamer).

Furthermore, existing practices do not capitalize on a substantial valueproposition that can be offered to computing environment operators (e.g.game developers). Namely, game developers (or other computingenvironment operators) do not exploit the numerous instances in whichparticipating users (e.g. gamers) circumvent one or more of thepredefined rules of a given game (or a given computing environment).Generally, game developers (or other computing environment operators)overlook this significant value added proposition given that currentpractices do not include the transaction of instances when suchenvironment (or game) rules are circumvented.

The present invention aims to ameliorate the shortcomings of existingpractices surrounding the circumvention of the predefined rules (herein“circumventions”) of a computing environment (e.g. computer game) suchthat the circumvention is integrated as part of the computingenvironment (e.g. computer game) and the execution of the circumventionis realized through a monetary transaction. In doing so, participatingusers (e.g computer gamers) are afforded the ability to circumvent oneor more of the predefined rules of the computing environment (e.g.computer game) in real time as the user navigates through the computingenvironment (e.g. the game is being played providing an enhancedentertainment environment). Moreover, the execution of the rulecircumvention is monetized to the benefit of the computing environmentoperator (e.g. computer game developer) and the participating user (e.g.computer gamer). Specifically, the computing environment operator (e.g.computer game developer), in using this invention, is provided with anadditional revenue stream generated from the execution of integratedrule circumventions and the participating user (e.g. computer gamer) isafforded the ability to pay for proven, reliable, and fully functionalrule circumventions in lieu of searching various reference sources andexecuting discovered “cheats” that may be hurtful to the cooperatingcomputing environment (e.g. computer game).

Moreover, the inventive concepts described herein may be extended foruse to integrate and transact interactive advertisements within acomputing environment (e.g. computer game environment (i.e. providing anentertainment enhancement option)). In this context, instead ofproviding data to computing environment operators (e.g. computer gamecontent providers) representative of a computing environment (e.g.computer game) circumvention, the data is representative of one or moreinteractive advertisements, that when interacted with during generalcomputing environment interaction (e.g. game play), trigger theexecution of one or more predefined scenarios.

For example, in a simulation computer game, the gamer might traversethrough a city having simulated store fronts. Conventionally, thesesimulated store fronts are static, that is non interactive and areprovided merely as background scenery or to add realism to the computergame environment. In a contemplated implementation of the presentinvention, the invention may be used to integrate an interactiveadvertisement in the computer game (i.e. rendering the computer game tobe an enhanced computer game or a computer game with enhancedentertainment options—EEO) such that the previously static storefrontsbecome interactive so the gamer can interact with the advertisementthrough the computer game to obtain the advertised product or service.

An exemplary scenario is a computer gamer, playing the game around mealtime, traverses through a simulated city comes upon a “pizza joint”. Thecomputer gamer, being entrenched in the computer game, forgets thathe/she has not eaten all day. Conventionally, the gamer would have tostop play of the computer game to obtain, order, and/or food. In theenhanced computer game, the “pizza joint” is interactive so that thecomputer gamer can interact with the simulated representation of the“pizza joint” to order a pizza for delivery to the computer gamer'shouse. Specifically, the present invention would act to transact thepizza order between the gamer and cooperating real-world pizzarestaurants using the computer gamer's transaction account. The systemsand methods disclosed herein support the realization of such scenario.

Identifying Computer Environment Circumvention Opportunities:

In the context of a computer game, exemplary rule circumventions mayinclude access to additional ammunition (or other resource—e.g.additional turns), information about the game environment, and numerousother items can be quantified by the game designer as suitable computergame rule circumventions that can be created, integrated, andtransacted. Similarly, advertisers may provide suitable interactiveadvertisements for integration within a computer game allowing for thepurchase of desired products and/or services.

Specifically, an integration partner may work with computer gamedevelopers to offer a rule circumvention transaction system forintegration within one or more of the cooperating computer gamedeveloper's computer games. The rule circumvention transaction systemwould exploit the rules of an already developed and deployed computergame to provide a mechanism by which the existing rules of a givencomputer game can be circumvented through the execution of at least onetransaction. This transaction may include, but is not limited to theexchange of monetary consideration, the exchange of established goodwill (e.g. membership points as part of a membership reward program),and the exchange goods and services (e.g. cooperating users are providedcredits for circumventing rules if the cooperating user assistssubscribing additional users to use and pay for rule circumventionabilities).

Creating Computing Environment Rule Circumventions:

Once identified, the computer game developers and/or participatingadvertisers working alone, or in concert with a technology integrationpartner, will make their computing environment (e.g. computer game)available to interact with one or mechanisms that circumvent one or moreof the identified computing environment rules (e.g. to realize acircumvention opportunity). Generally, there are several requirementsthat are considered when creating computer game circumventions. Theserequirements include the rights of control over the computer gamecircumvention (i.e. who has the authority to edit, modify, and offer thecomputer game circumvention). In the context of a computer game, thecomputer game designer controls the resources of the game thereby havingthe ability to create and provide the computer game circumvention togame participants. In this capacity, the computer game circumventionsoffered to participating gamers may give some control over a game'sresources (e.g. ammunition, lives, etc) for a predetermined price. Thecircumvention designer can decide the nature and extent of such controlbased on any number of factors such as cost, purchase history,demographic data, etc.

Comparatively, the integration of interactive advertisements can eitherbe initiated, designed, and deployed by the computer game developer incooperation with the advertisers seeking to place interactiveadvertisements or by a third party multimedia developer working inbetween interested advertisers and computer game developers to providecontent representative of interactive advertisements for placement in acomputer game. In operation, an advertiser seeking to place theiradvertisements in spaces already contracted to their competitors mayapproach a third party multi-media developer to create and generate theinteractive advertisement for placement in a particular game.Alternatively, the advertiser, if properly resourced, may instead,choose to work with the game developer directly to create and place thedesired interactive advertisement.

Integrating Computing Environment Rule Circumventions:

Once a computer game circumvention and/or interactive advertisement isidentified and created, it is integrated within the computingenvironment and coupled to a transaction system for transacting. Theintegration of the computer game circumventions and/or depends heavilyon the size, scale, and complexity of the computer game in which thecircumvention and/or interactive advertisement is to be offered.

Moreover, an exemplary transaction system for use to transact computergame circumventions and/or interactive advertisements may includesecurity to protect the integrity of the transaction and the computergame circumvention and/or interactive advertisement being transacted andcommunication means to inform participating users of the availability ofa circumvention and/or interactive advertisement and informationregarding the price and description of the computer game circumventionand/or interactive advertisement. Additionally, this system may trackand store participating users' information such as demographicinformation, buying habits, preferences or tastes. This information issubsequently used to determine the popularity of circumventions and/orinteractive advertisements and to assist in identifying and creating newcomputer game circumventions and/or interactive advertisements that canbe tailored to participating users' preferences. Further, the exemplarytransaction system may include inventory, sales, and trackinginformation for the various rule circumventions offered and sold.Optionally, the system may include one or more pricing mechanisms thatset prices for computer game circumventions based on a variety offactors. These factors include: participating users' preferences, cost,supply and demand. Further pricing may be realized through auctions,reverse auctions, forecasting techniques or other methods.

Transacting Computing Environment Rule Circumventions:

Generally, there are three steps performed when transacting a rulecircumvention event (e.g. computer game circumventions and/orinteractive advertisements): 1) transaction request, 2) transactionprocessing, and 3) transaction fulfillment. During the first step aparticipating user requests a circumvention to circumvent one or more ofthe predefined rules of a computer game (e.g. receiving additionalammunition automatically or additional lives). The request is processedby the systems of the present invention to determine if the request canbe successfully fulfilled. This determination may involve checking theprofile and account balance of the requesting participating user to seeif they are qualified for the requested circumvention and ensuring theparticipating user has requested a valid circumvention. If theparticipating user qualifies, the user's account is debited and therequested circumvention is provided (i.e. transaction fulfillmentoccurs). The transaction occurs in a real time two-way transaction. Itshould be noted, however, that a user may still have access to the rulecircumvention system if they do not qualify. In this context, computingenvironment operators (e.g. game developers) may choose to provideaccess to the rule circumvention system described herein to unqualifiedusers for various reasons, including but not limited to, promotionalpurposes (e.g. providing a new unqualified user a sample rulecircumvention in the hopes of attracting a new rule circumventioncustomer), market research purposes (e.g. to test the acceptance byusers of a new rule circumvention), and technical testing purposes.

For example, a participating user navigating in a computing gameenvironment requests more ammunition. The user is processed and ifqualified, received the ammunition immediately—the accounting for whichis settled latter. This permits the participating user to continue intheir computing game environment (i.e. continue playing the game)without the usual interruption of transaction processing. Additionalfeatures of rule circumvention comprise any of: keeping a tally for eachuser, each instance a rule is circumvented, aggregating the instances togenerate a billing statement, and reconciling payment from participatingusers against outstanding billing statements.

The process is similar when transacting interactive advertisementsexcept that the present invention may or may not perform transactionfulfillment for products and/or services ordered through the transactionsystem. In the instance that the transaction is fulfilled by thetransaction system, the transaction system electronically delivers theproducts and/or services requested by the participating users. Forexample, a participating user may come across an interactiveadvertisement for a software upgrade and may decide to purchase thesoftware upgrade through an interaction with the interactiveadvertisement. In this instance, the transaction system is capable ofdelivering the software upgrade (i.e. if it is in inventory) to therequesting participating user.

Alternatively, the order for a desired product and/or service requestedthrough the transaction of an interactive advertisement is communicatedby the transaction system of the present invention to the vendor of therequested product and/or service. The vendor then delivers the requestedproduct and/or service. It may be the case that the computer gamecontent provider be the vendor to deliver the requested service and/orproduct (an electronic data product and/or service) as part in parcelwith a selected circumvention. In such instance, the systems and methodsof the present invention are capable to deliver the requested productand/or service.

Although, the transaction of rule circumventions has been describedabove, such description is merely introductory and should be read withthe detailed description of transacting rule circumventions found below.

It is appreciated and understood that although the systems and methodsdescribed herein have been directed to the identification, creation, andtransaction of circumventions of rules within a computer game, that theinventive concepts described herein are not limited to such exemplaryimplementation, but rather are applicable to various computingenvironments having one or more predefined rules.

As will be described below with respect to FIGS. 1-5G, the systems andmethods described herein enable the procurement and transaction ofcomputer environment rule circumventions and/or interactiveadvertisements.

Illustrative Computing Environment

FIG. 1 shows computing system 100 that may support the presentinvention. Computing system 100 comprises computer 20 a that maycomprise display device 20 a′ and interface and processing unit 20 a″.Computer 20 a may support computing application 180. As shown, computingapplication 180 may comprise computing application processing andstorage area 180 a and computing application display 180 b. Computingapplication processing and storage area 180 a may contain rulecircumventions data store 180 a′. Similarly, computing applicationdisplay 180 b may comprise display content 180 b′. In operation, a user(not shown) may interface with computing application 180 through the useof computer 20 a. The user (not shown) may navigate through computingapplication 180 to obtain various computer environment rulecircumventions and/or access various interactive advertisements.Computer environment rule circumventions and/or interactiveadvertisements may be retrieved by computing application 180 from rulecircumventions data store 180 a′ of computing application processing andstorage area 180 a and shown to a user (not shown) as display content180 b′ on computing application display 180 b. The user (not shown) maychoose to purchase certain computer environment rule circumventionsand/or access various interactive advertisements. Transacted computerenvironment rule circumventions and/or interactive advertisements may bestored in cooperating data store 180 a′ and associated to created andstored user accounts. Such user accounts may be used in operation tofacilitate the transaction of computer environment rule circumventionsand/or the execution of interactive advertisements and may becommunicated to cooperating circumvention and interactive advertisementcontent providers (not shown).

Illustrative Computer Network Environment

Computer 20 a, described above, can be deployed as part of a computernetwork. In general, the above description for computers applies to bothserver computers and client computers deployed in a network environment.FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary network environment, with a server incommunication with client computers via a network, in which the presentinvention may be employed. As shown in FIG. 1A, a number of servers 10a, 10 b, etc., are interconnected via a communications network 160(which may be a LAN, WAN, intranet, the Internet, or other computernetwork) with a number of client computers 20 a, 20 b, 20 c, orcomputing devices, such as, mobile phone 15, land-line telephone 16, andpersonal digital assistant 17. In a network environment in which thecommunications network 160 is the Internet, for example, the servers 10can be Web servers with which the clients 20 communicate via any of anumber of known protocols, such as, hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)or wireless application protocol (WAP). Each client computer 20 can beequipped with browser 180 a to gain access to the servers 10. Similarly,personal digital assistant 17 can be equipped with computing application180 b and mobile phone 15 can be equipped with computing application 180c to display and receive various data.

In operation, a user (not shown) may interact with a computingapplication running on a client computing devices to obtain a variety ofrule circumventions. The rule circumventions may be stored on servercomputers and communicated to cooperating users through client computingdevices over communications network 160. A participating user maypurchase a computing environment rule circumvention and/or request theordering of a product and/or service (including the display ofadvertisement information) through an interactive advertisement byinterfacing with computing applications on client computing devices,thereby creating a enhanced entertainment option transaction. Thesetransactions may be communicated by client computing devices to servercomputers for processing and storage. Server computers may hostcomputing applications for the processing of circumvention andinteractive advertisement transactions and cooperating data stores forthe storage of such transactions.

Thus, the systems and methods described herein can be utilized in acomputer network environment having client computing devices foraccessing and interacting with the network and a server computer forinteracting with client computers. However, the systems and methodsproviding the creation, integration, and transaction of rulecircumventions and interactive advertisement can be implemented with avariety of network-based architectures, and thus should not be limitedto the example shown. The present invention will now be described inmore detail with reference to a presently illustrative implementation.

Computing Environment Rule Circumvention Transactions

FIG. 1B shows the cooperation of various computing elements whentransacting computer game circumventions and interactive advertisements(i.e. entertainment enhancement options) within a computer gameenvironment. A participating user may employ computing application 180operating on client computer 20 a to send a request for computer gamecircumvention content and/or interactive advertisement content 110 tocontent provider's server 10 a over communications network 160. Inresponse, content provider's server 10 a may process send the requestand retrieve environment features and/or elements (i.e. computer gamecircumventions) content and/or interactive advertisements content fromenvironment features and elements database 10 b for communication toclient computer 20 a over communications network 160 as shown by arrow110′. Further, participating user may employ computing application 180to communicate requests to purchase products and/or services offered bythe interactive advertisements. The interactive advertisement productsand/or services may be requested by participating users by interactingwith the interactive advertisement or, alternatively, the productsand/or services may be offered to participating users based onconditions (e.g. a participating user passes a rendition of cellularphone shop in a computing application game and is prompted on whetherhe/she would like to purchase a cellular phone or, alternatively, ifalready owning a cellular phone, whether he/she would like to pay theirbill, or some other consumer scenario).

FIGS. 2-2C are detailed block diagrams of an exemplary systems operatingthe described methods of the present invention. As is shown in FIG. 2,rule circumvention system environment 201 comprises participating user202, computing environment operators 203, rule circumventions 205, rulecircumvention transaction system 200, and payment reconciliation 230. Inoperation, participating users operating in a computing environment (notshown) interact with rule circumvention system 200 to obtain rulecircumventions 205 which are granted by computing environment operators203 and, for which, payment may be reconciled by payment reconciliationprocess 230. In an exemplary implementation, computing environmentoperators 203 may comprise game developers that offer a computer game toparticipating users 202. Within the computer game, computing environmentoperators 203 have integrated therein rule circumvention transactionsystem 200 which allows the participating user, for a fee, to circumventone or more of the rules of the computer game. The rule circumventions201 are then transacted between the participating users 202 and thecomputing environment operators 203 through rule circumventiontransaction system 200 (e.g. rule circumvention transaction system 200may operate to have users establish user accounts such that when aspecific rule circumvention is desired (e.g. adding more ammunition),the rule circumvention can be transacted in real time as theparticipating user is navigating through the computing environment) andpayment is reconciled by payment reconciliation process 230. It isappreciated that although payment reconciliation process 230 is shown toexist as a separate process from the rule circumvention transactionsystem 200, that such description is merely exemplary as paymentreconciliation (as is seen in FIGS. 2A-2C) may be part of rulecircumvention transaction system 200. Likewise, it is appreciated thatalthough rule circumventions 205 are shown to exist separate andindependent from rule circumvention transaction system 200, that suchdescription is merely exemplary as rule circumventions may be a part ofrule circumvention transaction system 200.

FIG. 2A shows a general block representation of the interaction ofcomponents of an exemplary rule circumvention system. As is shown, rulecircumvention system 200 comprises a computing application 206, contentserver 211, core transaction server 223, and payment processing 230.Computing application 206 cooperates with content server 211, having atleast one instruction set for integrating rule circumvention content incomputing application 206. Also, computing application 206 cooperateswith core transaction server 223, having at least one instruction set toinstruct core transaction server 223 to transact instances where rulecircumventions are initiated and executed in computing application 206.In transacting rule circumventions, core transaction server cooperateswith content server 211. As is shown, core transaction server 223 alsocooperates with payment processing module 230 to reconcile payment byend user 202 for transacted rule circumventions.

In operation, end user operates computing application to navigatethrough a computing environment (not shown). In navigating through thecomputing environment (e.g. computer game), the participating user maydesire to circumvent one or more of the rules of the computingenvironment. In this instance, computing application cooperates withcontent server 211 to obtain rule circumventions. When initiated andexecuted, the instances of rule circumventions are transacted by coretransaction server 223 cooperating with computing application 206 andcontent server 211. The transactions are then reconciled by paymentprocessing module 230.

FIG. 2A′ shows a first exemplary detailed implementation of computingenvironment rule circumvention system. As shown in FIG. 2A′, rulecircumvention system 200 comprises client computing application 204,browsing computing application 206, multimedia server 208, adapter 210,multimedia transaction server 211, core transaction server 223, thirdparty integrator computing application 229, database 228, and paymentprocessing engine 230. Core transaction server 223 further comprisescore transaction server (CTS) computing application 222. Multimediatransaction server 211 further comprises multi-media transactions servercomputing application 212 and data cache 220.

In an exemplary implementation, CTS computing application 222 maycomprise (but is not shown) an Internet information server transactionserver, Internet information server Web server, internet serverapplication program interface, CTS login dynamic link library (DLL), andstored procedures). MTS computing application 212 may comprise (but isnot shown) an Internet information server, ISAPI, multimedia transactionserver (MTS DLL), stored procedures. Lastly, third party integratorcomputing application may comprise Internet information server Webserver, ISAPI, Web transaction DLL, and stored procedures. It isappreciated, however, that the exemplary implementation described hereinis merely exemplary, as the systems and methods disclosed herein mayoperate on various computing environment platforms including but notlimited to, JAVA, LINUX, WINDOWS® (and it's family of products), andUNIX computing environment platforms.

In operation, participating user 202 cooperates with client computingapplication 204 to perform functions related to the transaction ofcomputing environment rule circumventions (not shown). Exemplaryfunctions include but are not limited to creating user accounts for usewhen transacting computer game rule circumventions and/or interactiveadvertisement interactions, requesting computer game rule circumventionsand/or interacting with interactive advertisements, executing computergame rule circumventions and/or interactive advertisements, andproviding payment (e.g. through a user account) for executed computergame circumventions and/or for requested products and/or services frominteractions with interactive advertisements. Client computingapplication 204 cooperates with multimedia server 208 to realize one ormore of these described functions. Multimedia server 208 comprises acomputing environment or a portion of a computing environment capable ofprocessing data representative of multimedia content. Also, multimediaserver 208 cooperates with multimedia transaction server 211 throughadapter 210. Adapter 210 serves as an interface to translate data inrequired protocols between multimedia server 208 and multimediatransaction server 211.

In the provided implementation, data is communicated between multimediatransaction server (MTS) 211 and multimedia server 208 through adapter210. Data arriving MTS server 211 is processed by MTS computingapplication 212 and communicates data to cooperating system 200components. Once processed, some of the data may be stored incooperating data cache 220, or alternatively be communicated between theMTS computing application 212 and core transaction server 223. Within,core transaction server 223, communicated data from multimediatransaction server 211 is further processed by CTS computing application222. A portion of the core transaction server data is communicated todatabase 228 through the CTS computing application 222. Alternatively,data processed by core transaction server 223 may be further processedby payment processing operation 230.

Moreover, core transaction server 223 may serve to assist in retrievingdesired login information (requested by cooperating web browser 206 aspart of a user login authentication and verification process). In thiscontext, the CTS computing application is invoked to cooperate withdatabase 228 to communicate data to and from database 228. Thisrequested data is then communicated browsing computing application 206.

Also, rule circumvention system 200 comprises third party integratorcomputing environment 229 having third party integrator computingapplication 218. Third party integrator computing application 218 ispartly populated by data retrieved from database 228. This data ispresented to end user 202 through browser computing application 206cooperating with client computing application 204.

In operation, end user 202 may employ system 200 to establish an accountfor use when transacting rule circumventions within a computingenvironment. Moreover, system 200 provides the rule circumventioncontent for integration within a given computing environment. In theillustration provided, the end user 202 has access to client computingapplication 204 cooperating with browser computing application 206 andmultimedia server 208. The multimedia client has the capability, interalia, to execute a computer game having therein rule circumventions. Enduser 202 can establish an account on rule circumvention system 200 byproviding data through client computing application 204 cooperating withbrowsing computer application 206. Specifically, end user 202 maycooperate with one or more data input interface devices (e.g. keyboard,mouse, graphic tablet, voice recognition device, or other similar datainput device—not shown) to provide data representative of a desiredaccount to client computing application 204 cooperating with browsingcomputing application 206. Account data is then communicated by browsingcomputing application 206 via some communication protocol by the thirdparty integrator computing application 218. The account information isstored in database 228 for use when transacting rule circumventionswithin a desired computing gaming environment. Included with theprovided end user account information is user contact information anddata representative and for use in payment processing for executedentertainment enhancement options transactions. Exemplary paymentprocessing data includes but is not limited to credit card accountinformation, Internet payment processing information (e.g. PAYPAL), bankinformation (e.g. online bank payment processing) and other similarelectronic payment processing options data. Moreover, the end user(and/or content manager or entertainment enhancement option manager) mayaccess end user account information using third party integratorcomputing application 218 to access desired account information storedin database 228.

An account established, end user 202 may employ entertainment rulecircumvention system 200 to transact and execute desired rulecircumventions. In this context, the end user interacting with acomputer game being displayed through client computing application 204by multimedia server 208 may engage one ore more integrated rulecircumventions integrated within the computer game. In operation, theintegrated rule circumvention is displayed to the end user 202 bymultimedia server 208 through client computing application 204. When thedesired entertainment option is engaged, a request is sent by multimediaserver 208 to multimedia transaction server 211 through adapter 210.Multimedia transaction server 211 first processes the request bydetermining whether the participating user has an established account onthe entertainment enhancement options transaction system 200.

Once, the account information is verified (and/or created), rulecircumvention system 200 proceeds to perform processing to transact thedesired rule circumvention for the end user. Specifically, coretransaction server 211 invokes CTS computing application 222 tocooperate with database 228 to obtain data representative of a rulecircumvention transaction. One obtained, the rule circumventiontransaction information is communicated to the multi-media transactionserver 211 through core transaction server 223. Specifically, MTScomputing application 212 gathers the rule circumvention transactioninformation for communication through adapter 210 to multi-media server208. It is at the adapter 210 that the appropriate triggers and flagsare initiated and set that allow for the rule circumvention to occurwith the computing environment supported by multi-media server 208. Atmulti-media server 208, additional content having the rule circumventioninformation and rule circumvention transaction information is providedto client computing application 204. As described previously, clientcomputing application 204 is used to display computing environmentcontent information (e.g. gaming content) to participating end users202.

Moreover, rule circumvention system 200 allows end user 202 to interactwith multimedia client 204 to simultaneously interact with a particularcomputing environment (e.g. a computer game) while verifying andupdating user account information. In this context, end user 202cooperated with client computing application 204 which in turncommunicates with browsing computing application 206 and third partyintegrator computing application 229 to verify and/or modify useraccount information on database 228. In doing so, rule circumventionsystem 200 allows users to have real time control over their accountwhile the computing environment is being navigated. With this ability,participating users 202 are provided with significant flexibility andcontrol over the incidence of engaging in rule circumvention.Specifically, an end user navigating through an environment may chooseto engage a particular rule circumvention only to find that theiraccount is past due or is underfunded. The end user 202 is not left inthe lurch, but rather is free to, while navigating through the computingenvironment, update their account information to bring it to a fundedstate such that the desired rule circumvention may be engaged.

As described, when a rule circumvention is transacted, the actualpayment for the transacted rule may be reconciled at various timesdepending on the configuration of the payment processing. As shown inFIG. 2A′, payment processing 230 cooperated with core transaction server223 to obtain transaction information for participating users who haveengaged in rule circumvention. Payment processing module 230 comprisesat least one instruction set for processing of payments according tosome predefined payment processing methodology (e.g. credit cardtransaction, debit card transaction, PAYPAL, etc.). Such paymentprocessing may occur in real time as participating user 202 engage inrule circumventions or may be configured to perform batch paymentprocessing such that payment processing is performed at a subsequenttime to when a participating user 202 engaged in a rule circumvention.

It is appreciated, however, that the inventive concepts described hereinextend beyond the instance where a computer game is played on a webbrowser computing application, rather, the inventive concepts describedherein can be implemented in various computing application executing invarious computing environments (networked and non-networked) havingvarying configurations. Moreover, it is appreciated that although theexample provided in FIG. 2A′ contemplates the use of a client computingapplication 204, browsing computing application 206 and, a third partyintegrator computing application 229, that such is merely exemplary asthese computing application may exist in the same computing application(not shown). In the example provided, this configuration of computingapplications addresses the instances in which the computing environmentoperator (e.g. game developer) operates a computing applicationindependent of the end users browsing computing application (e.g. webbrowser) which both are independent of a third party integratorcomputing application (e.g. rule circumvention transaction integrationpartner).

FIG. 2B shows an alternate implementation of rule circumvention system200′. As shown in FIG. 2B, the operation of rule circumvention system200′ dos not include multimedia transaction server 211 (as is seen inrule circumvention system 200 of FIG. 2A′). In this context, multimediaserver 208 no longer communicates through the adapter 210 and multimediatransaction server 211 when offering and receiving data from coretransaction server 223. With the absence of multimedia transactionserver 211, more transaction and rule circumvention processing is leftto be performed on adapter 210 and core transactions server 223.

FIG. 2C shows a second alternate implementation of rule circumventionsystem 200. As is shown in FIG. 2C, rule circumvention system 200″ doesnot include multimedia transaction server 211 (of rule circumventionsystem 200 as is seen in FIG. 2B). Instead, adapter 210 cooperates withMTS instruction set 216 which in turn cooperates with data cache 220.The remaining operations as described in FIG. 2A′ remain unchanged. Inthis context, without multimedia transaction server 211, more operationsperformed by multimedia transaction server 211 are offloaded to coretransaction server 223 and to adapter 210.

FIG. 2D shows a third alternate implementation of rule circumventionsystem 200. As is shown in FIG. 2D, rule circumvention system 200′″ doesnot include multimedia transaction server 211 (of rule circumventionsystem 200 as is seen in FIG. 2B) and does not include adapter 210.Instead, core transaction server 223 cooperates directly withmulti-media server 208 to perform functions described above. Theremaining operations as described in FIG. 2A′ remain unchanged. In thiscontext, without multimedia transaction server 211 and adapter 210, moreoperations performed by multimedia transaction server 211 and adapter210 are offloaded to core transaction server 223 and to adaptermultimedia server 208.

FIGS. 2D′ and 2E shows more detailed description of the data flowbetween the cooperating components of rule circumvention systems 200,200′, 200″, 200′″. As shown in FIG. 2D, MTS computing application 212communicates with other system components (not shown) via a nativecommunications protocol. MTS computing application 212 cooperates withapplication program interface (API) 214 which in turn communicates withMTS transaction instruction set 216. In addition, API 214 cooperateswith communications module 232 to communicate data to and from coretransaction server (not shown). MTS transaction instruction set 216, inturn, cooperates with Active Data Objects 234 which cooperates with ODBC236. ODBC, in turn, cooperated with stored procedures 218, which in turncooperates with data cache 220.

FIG. 2E, shows the data flow and cooperation of components to realizecommunication between the adapter and the multimedia transactions server(not shown). As shown, application interface 238 cooperates withcommunications protocol module 232 to realize MTS communications. Theapplication interface 238 receives and communicates information from theadapter and correspondingly, the communication protocol module 232communicates information to and from the multimedia transactions serveror core transaction server.

FIGS. 3, 4, and 4A illustrate screen shots that display various featuresof the computing environment rule circumvention system. As shown in FIG.3, rule circumvention system may be incorporated in computingapplication 180 displaying an interactive game through gaming pane 300.Gaming pane 300 may comprise gaming content 305 and rule circumventionsdialog box 310. In operation, a user may be prompted by gaming computingapplication to secure a variety of rule circumventions. In the exampleshown, dialog box 310 may warn the user that he/she is low in ammunitionin the interactive search and destroy game 305 that is being navigated.A user may choose to purchase additional ammunition and proceed, oralternatively, proceed without securing any rule circumventions.Conventionally, this rule circumvention would not be offered to garners.Rather, garners would be forced to proceed with low ammunition usingskill to advance in the game. Typically, gamers would proceed with lowammunition only to be defeated. The user maybe relegated to start thegame from the very beginning, rendering all of his/her invested timemoot.

Alternatively, the herein described systems and methods may offer usersinteractive advertisements (which as described above may in themselvesact as rule circumventions) by which users can purchase a variety ofproducts or services. These advertisements may be integrated within anumber of computing applications in accordance to the context of thecomputing application. For example, in a simulation role playing game,real world products and/or services advertisements may be integrated inthe game's landscape such that a user may interact with the cyber worldadvertisements to transact real world products and/or services. As shownin FIG. 4, the present invention may be employed by computingapplication 180 supporting a cyber environment having display pane 400.Display pane 400 may comprise interactive content 405 and interactivecontent dialog box 410. In operation, a user may be engrossed in a roleplaying computing application game for hours not realizing that thedinner hour is soon upon him/her. In the game, the user may be requiredto navigate through city streets and neighborhoods having storefrontsand other real world constructs. As the user passes by a cyber realmstorefront, ABC Pizza, dialog box 410 may appear to the user ofcomputing application 180 providing a friendly reminder that dinner timeis approaching. The user may proceed to enter the store in the cyberworld and place an order for a real world pizza. The system of thepresent invention would communicate the order to the appropriate partiesand the real world product would be delivered to the user. The user isnow given the ability to transact real world products through the cyberrealm storefront. The systems and methods described herein are notlimited to communicating with participating users using merely dialogboxes, but rather is capable of communicating with participating usersin any manner supported by the computing environment, including but notlimited to, heads up displays, sound, video, or any other integratedand/or stand-alone medium presentable and operable by the participatinguser. Moreover, the interactive advertisement offering is not limited tothe provided example, but rather, can be triggered by various conditionsand scenarios.

FIG. 4A shows a screen shot of an exemplary computing simulationapplication 413 describing the integration and real-time transactionfeatures of the herein described systems and methods. As shown, screenshot 415 comprises simulation content 420, rule circumventionsinformation 425, and transaction information 430. In operation, aparticipating user may operate computing simulation application 413 tointeract with simulation content 420. Computing simulation application415 may be configured that is has access to rule circumventions contentprovider computer server 10 a (of FIG. 1B) such that rule circumventionsmay be offered through computing application 413 to the participatinguser while interacting with computing application 413. In the exampleshown, the game is directed to a “shot-em up” type game where theparticipating user is called upon to slay unworldly beasts using avariety of weaponry. As the participating user runs low on ammunition(or some other condition), rule circumvention information 425 isdisplayed to offer rule circumventions to the participating user. Assuch, the rule circumvention is integrated into computing application413. Rule circumventions information 425 comprises information about thepossible rule circumventions and the cost of the rule circumventions. Inaddition to the rule circumventions information 425, transactioninformation 430 is offered to the participating user to inform him/herof their outstanding balance. The participating user may elect to acceptthe offered rule circumvention, using rule circumvention information 425and transaction information 430 to help him/her in their decision, toenhance his/her interaction with computing application 413.

It is appreciated that although the systems and methods have beendescribed in context of a computer game, the inventive conceptsdescribed herein extend beyond this singular exemplary implementation asthey are applied to any computing environment having rules such.

FIG. 5 shows the processing performed when a participating userestablishes an account for us with the herein described rule transactionsystem. As shown, processing begins at block 500 and proceeds to block502 where a check is performed to determined if the participating userhas an account. If the user does not have an account, processingproceeds to block 520 where an a check is performed to determine if anaccount is to be created. If it is not, processing terminates at block518. However, if the user wishes to establish an account, processingproceeds to block 522 where demographic and payment method informationis gathered and a user profile is created at block 524. From thereprocessing proceeds to block 506.

Alternatively, if at block 502, it is determined that a user has anestablished account, processing proceeds to block 504 where the user isprompted to enter in their login information. From there processingproceeds to block 506 where interactive advertisements are offered tothe participating users. The rules to be circumvented are then gatheredat block 508 and provided to the user as he/she navigates through thecomputing environment at block 510. Payment authorization is procured atblock 512 in the instance a rule circumvention is executed. A check isthen made at block 514 to determine if the user belongs to an awardsprogram. If the user is subscribed to an awards program, the awardsaccount is update at block 516 and processing then terminates at block518. However, if at block 514, it is determined that the user does notbelong to an awards program, processing proceeds to block 526 where acheck is made to determine if an awards account is to be created. If itis not, processing terminates at block 518. However, if an awardsprogram account is to be created, processing proceeds to block 528 wherean awards account is created and processing proceeds to block 516 andproceeds there from.

It is noted that the order of the offerings (e.g. interactiveadvertisement offering then rule circumvention offering, etc.) to theuser is merely exemplary as the order of offerings is dependent on howthe computing environment is navigated.

FIG. 5A shows the processing performed when a participating user engagesthe rule circumvention system (RCS) to circumvent one or more rules of acomputing environment having rule circumvention integrated therein. Asshown, processing begins at block 530 and proceeds to block 531 where acheck is performed to determine if the rule circumvention system is tobe invoked. If the rule circumvention system is not to be used,processing proceeds to block 547 wherein the computing environment isavailed to the participating user with rule circumventions. However, ifthe rule circumvention system is to be engaged at block 531, processingproceeds to block 532 where identification information is collected(identification information may include a user identifier (e.g.GameUserID), computing environment identifier (ProviderID), and anoperation identifier (Context ID)) and received. From there, processingproceeds to block 533 wherein the participating user is prompted tologin into the rule circumvention system. User login information isreceived at block 552 and securely transmitted to the rule circumventionsystem's multimedia transaction server at blocks 534. A check is thenmade against the RCS database at block 536 to determine if theidentification information provided is valid. If the identificationinformation is valid, processing proceeds to block 540 where the userlogin is recorded. Processing then proceeds to block 541 where theresults of the login are transmitted to the computing environmentoperator. However, if at block 536, the check returns a false answer,processing proceeds to block 541 and proceeds from there.

From there, processing proceeds to block 542 where a check is performedto determine if the user has been authorized to have access to one ormore rule circumventions. If the user is authorized, processing proceedsto block 543 where data about the user who logged in is retrieved. Theuser data is then cached at block 544. From there, a login successmessage is displayed at block 545 and processing proceeds to block 546wherein the participating user is provided access to the rulecircumvention system. Also after block 544, identification information(e.g. media identifier—MediaUserID and session identifier—SessionID) arecreated at block 548 and associated with the computing environment atblock 549.

However, if at block 542 the user is not authorized, processing proceedsto block 550 where an error message is transmitted to the participatinguser. The error is then displayed at block 551 and processing reverts toblock 552 and proceeds there from.

FIG. 5B shows the processing performed after a participating usersuccessfully logs onto the RCS and engages in a transaction for one ormore rule circumventions. As shown, processing begins at block 553 andproceeds to block 554 where a participating user initiates a rulecircumvention purchase. Processing then proceeds to blocks 555 whereidentification information (e.g. product information and session IDinformation) is transmitted to the RCS transacting module. From there acheck is performed at block 557 to determine if it is valididentification information. If it is a valid, processing proceeds toblock 560 where the an authorization is transmitted to the computingenvironment. The user is then provided the requested rule circumventionat block 561 and a confirmation message is displayed at block 564. Inaddition, a purchase receipt is provided at block 562 and thetransaction is recorded at block 563 for subsequent processing (e.g.user account reconciliation and payment processing).

However, if at block 557, the check return a false result, processingproceeds to block 565 where an error message is transmitted to theparticipating user. A check is then performed at block 566 to determineif the error is fatal to the transaction. If the error is fatal, anerror message is displayed and processing terminates at block 569.However, if the alternative proves to be true, processing proceeds toblock 567 where a corrective message is displayed and corrective action(e.g. capitalization of under-funded user accounts) is performed atblock 568. From there processing reverts to block 554 and proceeds therefrom.

FIG. 5C is a flow diagram of the processing performed when integratingan interactive advertisement in a computing environment. As shown,processing begins at block 570 wherein the RCS is invoked and proceedsto block 571 where a condition to offer interactive advertisements ismet (e.g. participating user utilizes an area of the computingenvironment having interactive advertisements or other condition is metfor the interactive advertisement transmission). Processing thenproceeds to block 572 where identification information (e.g. sessionidentifier and advertisement information) is transmitted to the rulecircumvention transaction module. The rule circumvention transactionmodule is described above and is seen in FIGS. 2-2E. From there a checkis performed against a data cache at block 573 to determine if theidentification information is valid. In operation, the interactiveadvertisements may be stored in a data cache to optimize processing. Ifthe identification information is found to be valid, processing proceedsto block 575 where one or more advertisements are selected fortransmission to the participating user at block 576. In this context,the advertisement may be generated in real time depending on one or moreconditions (e.g. user is known to like a particular recording artist) orselected from a library of advertisements, wherein the selection isperformed using a selection algorithm dependent on various factorsincluding but not limited to user preferences and demographics. Theadvertisement is provided to the user at block 577 and inserted into theuser's computing environment at block 578 for display at block 579. Inthis step, the advertisement may also be formatted to one or morepre-determined formats for seamless integration into hosting computingenvironment. Also, from block 577, an advertisement delivery receipt iscreated at block 580 and the transaction is recorded at block 581 forsubsequent processing (e.g. transaction reconciliation and advertiserbilling for advertisement placing).

However, if at block 573, the check returns a false answer, processingproceeds to block 582 where the transaction is committed for subsequentprocessing. A notification is then sent of a bad advertisement conditionor session is created at block 583 and an advertisement filler may becreated and displayed at blocks 584 and 585.

FIG. 5D shows the processing performed when delivering an interactiveadvertisement to a participating user. As shown, processing begins atblock 520′ and proceeds to block 521′ where the advertisement locationinformation and session identifier is transmitted to the rulecircumvention transaction module. Processing then proceeds to block 522′where the identification information is converted (e.g. the sessionidentifier is converted to the user identifier). From there processingfollows two paths. Specifically, at block 528′, user data andpreferences are retrieved from a cooperating data store to generate userdata 529′ for use by selection algorithm 527′. Also, from block 522′processing proceeds to block 523′ where the advertisement location dataand preferences are retrieved from a cooperating data store. This datais delivered as advertisement inventory data to selection algorithm527′. Additionally, advertisement location data 526′ is retrieved from acooperating data store at block 525′ and is provided to the selectionalgorithm 527′.

The selection algorithm 527′ processes the user data, location data, andadvertisement inventory data to select an appropriate advertisement fordelivery to the participating user based on these various criteria (e.g.user preferences, advertisement inventory, and location information—i.e.where the advertisement is to be placed in the computing environment).Once selected, the advertisement is ether retrieved a data store atblock 530′ or directly from the advertiser at block 531′ or generated inreal-time at block 545′. The selected, retrieved advertisement is thentranslated to a format appropriate to the advertisement location atblock 532′. The formatted advertisement is then transmitted at block533′ for display to the participating user at block 534′. Oncedisplayed, an advertisement delivery receipt is created at block 535′and the advertisement exposure is recorded at block 536′.

FIG. 5E shows the processing performed when a user modifies theiraccount (e.g. adds money to their account or makes a purchase off theiraccount) on which the RCS operates. As shown, processing begins at block586 and proceeds to block 587 where the participating user purchases arule circumvention (RC) or adds a money to their account. From thereprocessing proceeds to block 588 where the identification information(session identifier) is transmitted to the rule circumventiontransaction module. A check is then performed at block 589 to determineif the identification information is valid. If the identificationinformation is valid, processing proceeds to block 591 where thetransaction is recorded (the transaction recording may include but isnot limited to the generation of a balance that is transmitted fordisplay and viewed).

However, if the checks at block 589 return a false answer, processingproceeds to block 594 where an error message is transmitted to thecomputing environment. A check is then performed by the rulecircumvention system at block 595 to determine if the error stemmingfrom blocks 589 is fatal. If the error is fatal, an error message isdisplayed and processing terminates. However, if the error is proven notto be fatal, processing proceeds to block 596, where a suggestedcorrective action message is displayed. Corrective action (e.g. enteringin user name and password) is then taken at block 597. Processing thenreverts to block 587 and proceeds there from.

FIG. 5F shows the processing performed when a participating userrequests funds to be added by the rule circumvention system to theiraccount. In operation, a participating user will offer some verificationof funds (e.g. credit card, routing information for a bank account,etc.) on which the RCS operates to perform user account maintenance. Asshown, processing begins at block 501′ and proceeds to block 502′ wherethe participating user requests additional money. Processing thenproceeds to block 503′ where identification information (e.g. useridentifier and amount requested) is transmitted to the rulecircumvention transaction module. A check is then performed at block504′ to determine if the identification information is valid. If it is,processing proceeds to block 506′ where payment authorization commences.However, if at block 504′, an error occurs such that the identificationinformation is not validated, processing proceeds to block 508′ andproceeds from there.

If at block 506′ it is determined that payment is not properlyauthorized (e.g. credit card is rejected for requested amount),processing proceeds to block 508′ where the result of the paymentauthorization is transmitted to the computing environment. However, ifthe payment authorization is successful, processing proceeds to block507′ where the purchase (i.e. additional funds are added to the account)is recorded and proceeds to block 508′. From block 508′, processingproceeds to block 509′ where a check is performed to determine if thepurchase had been authorized. If it was authorized, processing proceedsto block 510′ where the user's balance is retrieved and then cached atblock 511′. A success message is transmitted to the participating userat block 512′ and the updated balance is provided at block 514′ fordisplay at block 515′.

If, however, at block 509′, it is determined that the payment is notauthorized, processing proceeds to block 515′ where an error message istransmitted. From there a check is performed to determine if the errorthat lead to a non payment authorization was fatal. If the error wasfatal, processing proceeds to block 519′ where an error message isdisplayed. However, if the error is not fatal a corrective message isdisplayed at block 517′. Corrective action (e.g. entering new userinformation), is then performed at block 518′. From there, processingreverts to block 502′ and proceeds there from.

FIG. 5G shows the processing performed when reconciling user accountsand advertisement usage for rule circumvention events. Thereconciliation of such accounts on rule circumvention events providescomputing operators (e.g. game developers) and their rule circumventiontransaction integration partners with information representative of rulecircumvention usage and revenue generated from the transaction of suchrule circumvention events. As shown, in the context of updatingparticipating user balances, processing begins at block 537′ where theparticipating user balance is updated to show the execution of at leastone rule circumvention. From there, processing proceeds to block 538′where the revenue from such rule circumvention transactions arerecorded. The participating user purchase is then recorded at block539′. Processing then proceeds to block 540′ where the integrationpartner revenue is provided.

In the context of tracking advertisement usage, processing begins atblock 541′ where advertisement exposure is recorded. From thereprocessing proceeds to block 542′ where the revenue from advertisementusage is recorded. The revenue generated for the computing environmentoperator is then calculated and provided at block 543′. In the instancethat the computing environment operator is a third party, in addition tothe calculation of the revenue for the computing environment operator, acalculation and payment of funds is made to the third party forsupplying the product and/or service requested through the interactiveadvertisement. The advertiser cost is then recorded at block 544′. Suchprocessing may be representative of the instance in which an advertisercooperates with a computing environment operator to transact one or moreadvertisement rule circumventions (e.g. place an advertisement inalready committed advertisement space).

Rule Circumvention for Integrated Advertisements in ComputingEnvironments

The systems and methods described herein also contemplate an alternativeimplementation where the participating user is an advertiser. In thisillustrative implementation, the advertiser of products and services incomputing environments, such as, interactive TV, online movies,streaming media, or video clips, may circumvent already establishedadvertising rules over their competitors, such as better placement ofadvertisements in the computing environment for their products and/orservices. In doing so, the participating advertisers transactingadvertisement rule circumvention can better target and reach a largeraudience. These participating users (i.e. advertisers) are charged forthe advertisement rule circumvention much like other computingenvironment rule circumventions according to the rule circumventioncreation, integration, and transaction techniques described above.

CONCLUSION

In sum, the present invention provides system and methods to create,integrate, and transact the circumvention of rules in a computingenvironment. It is understood, however, that the invention issusceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions.There is no intention to limit the invention to the specificconstructions described herein. On the contrary, the invention isintended to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, andequivalents falling within the scope and spirit of the invention.

It should also be noted that the present invention may be implemented ina variety of computer environments (including both non-wireless andwireless computer environments), partial computing environments, andreal world environments. The various techniques described herein may beimplemented in hardware or software, or a combination of both.Preferably, the techniques are implemented in computer programsexecuting on programmable computers that each include a processor, astorage medium readable by the processor (including volatile andnon-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device,and at least one output device. Program code is applied to data enteredusing the input device to perform the functions described above and togenerate output information. The output information is applied to one ormore output devices. Each program is preferably implemented in a highlevel procedural or object oriented programming language to communicatewith a computer system. However, the programs can be implemented inassembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language maybe a compiled or interpreted language. Each such computer program ispreferably stored on a storage medium or device (e.g., ROM or magneticdisk) that is readable by a general or special purpose programmablecomputer for configuring and operating the computer when the storagemedium or device is read by the computer to perform the proceduresdescribed above. The system may also be considered to be implemented asa computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program,where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in aspecific and predefined manner.

Although an exemplary implementation of the invention has been describedin detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate thatmany additional modifications are possible in the exemplary embodimentswithout materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages ofthe invention. Accordingly, these and all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of this invention. Theinvention may be better defined by the following exemplary claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a processor; a memorycommunicatively coupled to the processor, the memory having storedtherein computer-executable instructions, comprising: a core transactionserver program configured to receive a request to circumvent at leastone predefined rule of a computer game, to communicate user accountinformation to the computer game, to transact at least one circumventionof the at least one predefined rule including to transmit the at leastone circumvention of the at least one predefined rule to the computergame without a user's account information qualifying for thecircumvention, and to update the user account information upon thetransaction of the at least one circumvention of the at least onepredefined rule, wherein the core transaction server program isconfigured to perform the receiving, communicating, transacting, andupdating as the computer game is played and without interrupting thecomputer game; an adapter configured to communicate with the coretransaction server program the at least one circumvention of the atleast one predefined rule and to process the at least one circumventionof the at least one predefined rule for integration in the computer gameacross a plurality of computing environment platforms; and a paymentprocessing module in communication with the core transaction serverprogram to reconcile payment for at least one executed transactionrepresentative of the at least one circumvention of the at least onepredefined rule, wherein the instructions are received from at least oneof the core transaction server program, the adapter, and the paymentprocessing module; wherein the core transaction server program isfurther configured to: track buying habits of one or more users of thegaming environment with respect to the at least one circumvention; anddetermine respective popularity of the circumventions of the at leastone circumvention based on the tracked buying habits.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising a web server providing a user website,wherein the user website and the computer game operate independently ofeach other, and wherein the user website and the computer gamecommunicate information representative of the at least one circumventionof the at least one predefined rule and the transaction of the at leastone circumvention of the at least one predefined rule.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the core transaction server program is furtherconfigured to associate an amount with the at least one circumvention ofthe at least one predefined rule, to track a number of instances wherethe at least one predefined rule is circumvented, and to generate atotal charge amount based on the associated amount and the number ofinstances; and wherein the payment processing module is configured toreconcile the payment based on the charge amount.
 4. The system of claim1, wherein the core transaction server program is further configured toadjust respective prices of circumventions of the at least onecircumvention based upon the respective popularity.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the core transaction server program is furtherconfigured to add credits to the user account information in response tothe user assisting in subscribing another user to the at least onecircumvention of the at least one predefined rule.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, where in the core transaction server program is furtherconfigured to: receive a user input associated with a user accountassociated with the user account information indicating whether the useraccount desires access to a capability of circumventing predefined rulesof the computer game; store the user input with the user account; uponinitiation of gaming action by the user account in the gamingenvironment, determine whether the user input indicates that the useraccount desires access to the capability of circumventing the predefinedrules of the computer game; and in response to the user input indicatingthat the user account desires access to the capability of circumventingthe predefined rules, enable the user account to display in the computergame a plurality of circumventions that respectively have displayedprices.